Defense wants charity gambling case to be tossed

SANFORD, Fla. 
Attorneys for a Jacksonville lawyer asked a judge Tuesday to throw out his criminal charges, claiming prosecutors failed to prove that he had helped build a $300 million gambling business that operated under the guise of a veterans' group.

Kelly Mathis never controlled, owned or managed any of the dozens of Allied Veterans of the World Internet cafes that operated in Florida until this year, his attorneys said. They said even if he did, the centers were offering sweepstakes to promote the sale of Internet time, not gambling.

The arrest of Mathis and 56 other people in March prompted the Florida Legislature to ban Internet cafes and led to the resignation of former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who had worked as a consultant for Allied Veterans. She has denied wrongdoing and wasn't charged.

Mathis is pleading not guilty to more than 150 charges, including possession of slot machines, keeping gambling houses and other charges. He and his attorneys claim he only gave legal advice and did nothing wrong.

"He offered legal analysis, and the client could do what he wanted to do," said defense attorney Mitch Stone.

Prosecutors alleged Mathis helped build up the network of casinos by claiming they were businesses where customers could buy Internet time, when in reality most customers played slot machine games on computers and didn't use the Internet.

On Tuesday, prosecutor April Acharekar told the judge that jurors should be given the chance to decide if Mathis committed any crimes.

"He was certainly in control of some aspects of the organization," Acharekar said.

Defense attorneys' request to dismiss the charges came a day after prosecutors rested their case. If Judge Kenneth Lester denies the request, defense attorneys could start calling witnesses as soon as Wednesday. If the judge grants the request, it could jeopardize the chances of prosecuting other Allied Veterans' defendants. Jurors were given Tuesday off as attorneys argued on the motion to dismiss. Lester was expected to rule on the issue later Tuesday.

The prosecution rested without calling some of Mathis' key co-defendants who had reached deals with prosecutors: former Allied Veterans of the World leaders Johnny Duncan and Jerry Bass, as well as Chase Burns, who operated a company that made software for computers at the dozens of Allied Veterans centers around Florida.